Wood Arts Persimmon driver - any info or insight?

[augustgolf]

I have come into a club that I have never seen before, and know nothing about.

 

Does anyone here have info or insight about Wood Arts clubs, and/or this particular persimmon driver?

 

Looks like a possible gamma glass insert, but not even sure about that.

 

It does have some nice grain, and an usual finish. Faces of persimmon drivers are/were not usually stained the same as the rest of the club, but this face has the same staining as the crown, back, etc.

 

Also a very neat swept back sole place.

 

This club does not appear to have been hit very much, as there are no sky marks, and the face is exceptionally clean for a club that I would estimate to be around ~40 years old.

 

Hope that I find out something....surely rex has info on this.

 

BTW, rex - did you ever post those images of those LH MacGregors I found for you in the mountains? The board here might appreciate seeing them.

 

Thanks, in advance, for any and all assistance with this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[rex235]

August-

 

You could have just called me...... :taunt:

 

Dave Wood gave me the 411 about Wood Arts golf clubs a few moons ago. Here it is-

 

Wood Arts was a Houston, Texas golf company that was founded by Doyle Jernigan and his partner Margaret Casky. They were good people and we had a friendly relationship. They produced some very beautiful woods such as the one's that you possess. Their business was mostly directed towards the high end, corporate promotion and custom made equipment.

 

They may have produced some woods from persimmon, however, most of their clubs were crafted from very exotic and rare, tropical hardwoods from south America and Asia. Their head shapes were very classical, but it was beauty of exotic and rare hardwoods was their main selling feature. One of their retail wood lines that reached some regional success was branded “Beauwood”. It was a very dark, marbly and beautiful hardwood from the Amazon.

 

With best regards,

 

Dave

 

PS- The '59s are going in the book...

[mocokid]

+++

I do remember those, that one is gorgeous !!

[augustgolf]

August-

 

You could have just called me...... :taunt:

 

Dave Wood gave me the 411 about Wood Arts golf clubs a few moons ago. Here it is-

 

Wood Arts was a Houston, Texas golf company that was founded by Doyle Jernigan and his partner Margaret Casky. They were good people and we had a friendly relationship. They produced some very beautiful woods such as the one's that you possess. Their business was mostly directed towards the high end, corporate promotion and custom made equipment.

 

They may have produced some woods from persimmon, however, most of their clubs were crafted from very exotic and rare, tropical hardwoods from south America and Asia. Their head shapes were very classical, but it was beauty of exotic and rare hardwoods was their main selling feature. One of their retail wood lines that reached some regional success was branded “Beauwood”. It was a very dark, marbly and beautiful hardwood from the Amazon.

 

With best regards,

 

Dave

 

PS- The '59s are going in the book...

 

You're right...I could have just called you, but I know that you are a busy person, and with summer drawing to a close soon, didn't want to bother you away from the course, and knowing that you would sooner or later come online here.

 

I appreciate your info. I remember Beauwoods, as I lived in Houston when those were something new in golf, but never knew the association with Wood Arts.

 

Now that you mention the fact that some of there product was made from exotic woods other than persimmon, I wonder if this might be one of them, which would partly explain keeping the face matching the rest of the finish on the head. This might have been the actual color of the wood, without any stain or finish at all.

 

Since Wood Arts/Beauwood have long been out of business, I wonder if the rarity of this club has any type of monetary value that could be established???

 

Let me know when "the book" is ready - I'm all in for a copy!

[augustgolf]

+++

I do remember those, that one is gorgeous !!

 

Would be interested in any knowledge you have of these. Feel free to PM me, or reply to this section, so that all the rest of the old farts here can appreciate it (actually, that was aimed at Stu)

[stixman]

Rex, have you still got the Wood Arts LH woods I sent you 5 or 6 years back. The reason I rescued them was because of the sensational finish.

[augustgolf]

Doyle Jernigan passed away in 2015;

 

He apparently was light years ahead of PXG, in that he sued Callaway for infringement on his idea for weight distribution when the Hawkeye irons came out:

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2001/01/22/story7.html

 

https://patents.google.com/patent/US4355808

 

Nothing is ever new in the (golf) world

[elwhippy]

Awesome grain let down by a hideous insert.

[augustgolf]

Awesome grain let down by a hideous insert.

 

You noticed it too...????

 

FWIW - gamma glass got big in the middle/late '70's.

 

People always comment about the sound "so & so" makes when hitting a ball with a driver.

 

If you've never heard it....a Top-Flite hit at around 105+ with one of the gamma glass inserts sounded like a .22 going off really near you.

[rex235]

August-

 

On a range somewhere in the early '60s, a Professional golfer of note was intrigued by another pro hitting his driver....

 

The pro went out of his way to complement the golfer, whose driver "sounded just like the crack of a rifle."

 

The pro golfer responsible? Pete Brown- Winner of the 1970 Andy Williams San Diego Open, in a playoff over Tony Jacklin.

 

The pro golfer who complemented him? Ben Hogan.

 

The guy in 1970 who missed a 5 foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to tie Brown and Jacklin in San Diego? Jack Nicklaus.

 

That same year, Jacklin won the US Open at Haseltine in MN that same year.

 

That same year Nicklaus won the British Open at St Andrews in a Playoff when some guy named Doug Sanders missed a 3 footer for the win.

 

Sanders picked up a small item in his line...

 

It was said then, half a world away in TX, a Pro yelled at his TV set, "Step away from that putt Sanders!"

 

Yes.... Ben Hogan....